Removable and Reversible Shoe Fashion Accessory

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to an accessory for enhancing the fashion appeal of shoes by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band designed to removably cover the back of the wearer&#39;s ankle and to be worn over the heel of the shoe and attractively strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer&#39;s leg.

This Application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 13/134,905, filed Jun. 21, 2011, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional 61/399,402 filed Jul. 12, 2010.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to shoe fashion accessories. More specifically, it relates to a lower leg strapped, shoe fashion accessory designed to be worn over the heel of a shoe and the back of a shoe, or in the case of slip ons and sling backs shoes, over the heel of the shoe and the back of the wearer's ankle.

Shoes come in an extremely wide variety of designs, including high and low heels, strapped and unstrapped, sling backs and covered shoes etc. The shapes and designs of shoes are as ingenious as the designer's creativity. This invention is a shoe fashion accessory designed to accentuate or enhance the fashion appeal of any footwear, particularly ladies footwear, by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory designed to cover the back of the wearer's ankle and to be worn over the heels of the shoe and attractively strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer's leg.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a principal object of this invention to enhance the fashion appeal of shoes by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band designed to removably cover the back of the wearer's ankle and to be worn over the heel of the shoe and attractively strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer's leg.

It is also an object of this invention to enhance the fashion appeal of shoes by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band and designed to removably cover the back of the wearer's ankle and to be worn over the heels of the shoe and attractively and removably strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer's leg.

It is another object of the invention to provide a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band and designed to removably cover the back of the wearer's ankle and to be worn over the heel of a sling back shoe and attractively strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer's leg in order to prevent the wearer's garments from getting stuck between the heels of the wearer's foot and the heels of the sling back shoe.

It is also an object of this invention to enhance the fashion appeal of shoes by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band and designed to removably and reversibly cover the back of the wearer's ankle and to be worn over the heel of the shoe and attractively strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer's leg.

It is also an object of this invention to enhance the fashion appeal of shoes by providing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band designed to removably and reversibly cover the back of the wearer's ankle and to be worn over the heel of the shoe and attractively and removably strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer's leg.

In one embodiment, the accessory is made of fabric, leather or spandex, polyspandex or any suitably elastic material or combinations thereof known in the art.

In another embodiment, the user is provided with different colored ankle straps to mix and match with different colored foot heel and shoe heel covering portions. It is understood that the ankle straps the foot heel and shoe heel covering portions can be made of different materials.

In another embodiment, the foot heel and shoe heel covering portions can be reversed by turning said portions in and out through the elastic shoe heel retaining band to provide a two in one color combination.

In yet another embodiment, the shoe accessory is sequined to further enhance the fashion appeal of the wearer's shoes.

In yet another embodiment, the shoe accessory is decorated with tails and appendages hanging from its side in order to further enhance the fashion appeal of the wearer's shoe.

In yet another embodiment, the shoe accessory is made of a bilayer of one or two different materials each layer having same or different colors.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method for enhancing the fashion appeal of foot wears comprising adorning the fashion accessory of this invention over a wearer's heel and shoes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side to rear perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a right side perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a left side perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is another top perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of the shoe accessory in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a side to rear perspective view of the shoe accessory with the ankle strap undone in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a side to rear perspective view of the shoe accessory with the ankle strap undone and the foot heel covering portion removed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a side to rear perspective view of the shoe accessory with the ankle strap undone and the foot heel and shoe heel covering portion removed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As used in this description, footwear and shoes are used interchangeably and it is understood that this invention can be adapted to any high heeled men's or ladies' shoes or crossover shoes.

All references to heels refer either to the heel of a shoe or the heel of the feet as the context indicates. It is understood that the invention is not limited by the size and length of the shoe heel and can be adapted to accommodate shoe heels of different sizes and lengths.

It is also understood that the invention can come in various sizes and colors to accommodate different leg, heel, and shoe sizes or designs.

It is also understood that the term “foot heel covering portion,” covers foot heels in the case of sling back shoes and can be worn over the back covering of nonsling back shoes as well and this invention can be used for sling back or non sling back shoes.

It is also understood that the “shoe heel covering portion,” covers is intended to be worn over shoe heels of different sizes and lengths and is not restricted to any particular design of shoe heels.

It is also understood that the ankle strap need not necessarily be strapped to the ankle but may be strapped to any position of the lower leg as the particular design of the accessory warrants. It is also understood that this invention is not limited by the length and width of the ankle strap or the manner in which the strapping is done. It is understood that strapping of the ankle strap can also be done by means of Velcro ties or buckles.

Referring now to the drawings which are presented for illustrative purposes only and not drawn to scale, FIG. 1 FIG. 1 is a side to rear perspective view of the shoe accessory 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention designed to be worn over the heel 18 of the shoe 12. The accessory 10 comprises an ankle strap 20, a foot heel covering portion 24 seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion 34 having an elastic shoe heel retaining band 28 designed to removably cover the back of the wearer's ankle 16 and to be worn over the heel 18 of the shoe 12.

The accessory 10 can be made with a single or bilayer material.

A means 26 is sown or attached to the top end 40 of the foot heel covering portion 24 for attaching the strap 20. In one embodiment, the strap 20 is undetachably sewn unto the top end 40 of the foot heel covering portion 24. Preferably, the strap 20 is removable from the rest of the accessory 10. In another embodiment, the means 26 comprises a pass through hole sewn on the inner portion of the top end for passing a removable strap 20 through said hole. In a most preferred embodiment, the means 26 at the top end 40 comprises a pass through hole as shown in FIG. 1 made by folding over and stitching the top end 40 to form the means 26. In a unilayer construct, the means 26 is a hole made by folding and stitching the top end to create the pass through hole. In a bilayer construct, the means 26 is a hole made by not stitching the bilayer all the way up in order to create a pass through hole for the strap 20.

Any means of retaining the shoe heel covering portion 34 over the heel 18 is contemplated by this invention. Preferably, an elastic shoe heel retaining band 28 made of strands of rubber and latex materials sewn together is sewn unto the portion 34 for securely and snugly fitting the heel 18 through the shoe heel covering portion 34.

As shown in FIG. 2, the profile of the accessory 10 depends on the design of the shoe. For a narrow high heeled shoe, the profile is substantially triangular. FIGS. 3 and 4 are side perspective views of the accessory 10 and attempt to illustrate the accessory 10 when there is no foot in the shoe 12 unlike in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 5 to 7 illustrate top and bottom perspective views of the accessory 10.

As shown in FIG. 8, in order to remove the device, the ankle strap 20 is first undone. Then the shoe heel covering portion 34 is peeled back. See FIG. 9. Finally, the heel 18, and its upper portion 35 is separated from the shoe heel retaining portion 34. See FIG. 10.

The shoe heel covering portion 34 is designed for a pass-through of the shoe heel 18 in either the unilayer or the bilayer construct. In the unilayer construct, the accessory 10 is made of one layer of material and has a defined outer side and a defined inner side. In a preferred embodiment, the accessory 10 uses a bilayer construct wherein two different layers of material are used to construct the shoe heel covering portion 34 and the foot heel covering portion 24. Preferably, the bilayers are made of different colors if not different materials and a user can simply turn the rest accessory into and through the shoe heel retaining band 28 to reverse the bilayers. Most preferably, the accessory 10 is made with elastic or stretchable fabric so that it wears snugly around the wearer's shoes and legs.

It is contemplated that the removability of the strap 20 and the reversibility of the bilayer construct gives a user a wide array of color combinations in order to enhance the fashion appeal of their foot wear.

It is also understood that the method of this invention allows a user, if they so choose, to wear different color combinations of straps and foot and shoe heel covering portions on either leg.

While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular shoe design or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. Documents including patents and non patent references cited herein are expressly incorporated by reference. 

What is claimed:
 1. A shoe accessory for enhancing the fashion appeal of a shoe comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band designed to removably cover the back of the wearer's ankle and to be snugly worn over the heel of the shoe and strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of the wearer's leg wherein the shoe heel passes completely through the shoe heel covering portion.
 2. The shoe accessory of claim 1 further comprising a means for removably attaching and detaching the ankle strap from the rest of the accessory.
 3. The shoe accessory of claim 2 further comprising a unilayer construct of materials.
 4. The shoe accessory of claim 2, further comprising a bilayer construct of materials.
 5. The shoe accessory of claim 4, wherein the bilayer can be reversed by passing the accessory in and out through the shoe heel retaining band.
 6. The shoe accessory of claim 4, wherein the bilayers are made of different colors and/or different materials.
 7. The shoe accessory of claim 1, wherein the accessory is made of elastic fabric, leather, or spandex.
 8. A method of enhancing the fashion appeal of shoes comprising wearing a lower leg or ankle strapped accessory comprising an ankle strap, a foot heel covering portion seamlessly connected to a shoe heel covering portion having an elastic shoe heel retaining band designed to removably cover the back of the wearer's ankle and to be worn over the heel of the shoe and attractively strapped at the ankle, or just above the ankle, or somewhere on the lower leg segment of a wearer's leg, wherein the shoe heel passes completely through the shoe heel covering portion.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the ankle strap is detachable from the rest of the accessory.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the ankle strap is made of a different color or material from the rest of the accessory.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the accessory is made of a unilayer construction of materials.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the accessory is made of a bilayer construction of materials.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the layers can be reversed.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the accessory is further decorated with sequins and/or appendages.
 15. The method of claim 8, wherein the left and right foot accessories are made of different colors and/or of different materials. 